


Diamond Dust

by CourierNinetyTwo



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-18
Updated: 2015-04-18
Packaged: 2018-03-23 12:37:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3768886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CourierNinetyTwo/pseuds/CourierNinetyTwo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They knew each other from one war to the next.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Diamond Dust

Jasper had never been so proud to walk a bridge before.

The cloak of command fit perfectly around her shoulders, fabric woven and cut by the most skilled of guild-caste hands flowing like liquid metal when she let it fall through her fingers. Yellow Diamond had noticed her prowess on the front line, and now it was visible for all to see.

For all the glamour in wearing the trappings of a leader, Jasper was far more impressed by the warship assigned to her command. It was cutting edge in every sense, poised like a spear in the sky to be driven right into the heart of the resistance. The rebels had fallen back to some backwater planet to rally their forces and break their backs before they dared to straighten them again.

With the warriors gathered for the crew, she could have snapped them in two, but the Authority had gifted her with a secret weapon. Their generosity was truly unparalleled.

Said weapon came in the form of a young Lapis Lazuli conscripted from Homeworld after a series of trials. Originally they had planned for an entire set, but nearly all of the subjects had proved too weak, cracking under the first sign of pressure.

All but one.

She was small enough to hide in Jasper’s shadow, and did when they first boarded the ship, staring wide-eyed at the revolving engine of war, soldiers falling in line beside technicians and pilots, logistics and saboteurs. They all snapped to a salute as their commander passed, but distaste gleamed in sneers and curses when Lapis stumbled to follow.

Halfway through the journey, that resentment hadn’t eased, only festering beneath the surface. If anything, it buried deeper and became a nuisance.

Lapis’ quarters – a cell, Jasper supposed, but they had no spare bunkers left for a hanger-on – were minimal, and at times when she passed, the smaller gem summoned the courage to ask for a walk along the bridge during commander’s rounds. Jasper allowed it more often than not, provided she stayed quiet; even pets were given space to roam around. Usually.

As it was, Blue Diamond’s decree made it clear Lapis was no threat now. She had no independent weapon to speak of without water at hand and her ability to fly meant little within the confines of a ship. A leash would only be needed after they landed.

Yet trouble came on one of these walks when Lapis tripped over a power cable, the pulsing vein exposed by an engineer reinforcing the bubble shield matrix. The Peridot immediately turned from her workstation, irritated frown becoming full-blown indignation in Lapis’ direction while she hurriedly smoothed her dress back into place.

“Watch where you’re walking!” A multi-wrench was jabbed towards Lapis’ chest, its facets smooth and sharp. “Barely better than a Pearl and you’re stumbling through the heart of the fleet.”

It was true. Lazuli was scraped from the same coasts as the servants, a step above but barely so. They were matrons of tidepools at best, managing coolant systems and factory floors. As things so often fell into place, those who nurtured the Pearls were little better than the weaklings themselves.

Still, Jasper didn’t appreciate such an outburst, much less from a veteran soldier. The tight band above the engineer’s brow was proof of surviving grievous injury, borne with pride.

Her hand locked around the Peridot’s extended wrist, squeezing until the wrench shook between rounded fingers.

“She has a purpose. The same authority that put you on the ship put her here. You were hand-picked for greatness.” Jasper growled, holding that translucent green stare. “Do you refute that?”

Her eyes flickered down behind a clear visor, sneer dissipating. “No, commander.”

“Good. That applies to the rest of the crew as well.” With a dismissive huff, Jasper relaxed her grip, making a vague gesture towards Lapis. “Come on, little one.”

Halfway to the helm, Lapis murmured, “thank you.”

“What did I tell you about talking?” Jasper snapped.

A soft gasp was the stilted reply, Lapis’ shoulders going stiff as she lowered her gaze. Letting out a guttural sigh, Jasper kept walking, minding the salutes of each officer they passed. Every member of this crew was the best of the best, ready to unleash devastation on any resistance Rose Quartz could offer.

A trio of pilots were aligned in a triangle in the center of the bridge, each one making adjustments to trajectory and cross-checking systems. The one in back came to attention at her approach, head held high.

“Commander on deck!” She announced, waiting for a nod of approval before returning to her duties, hands flying over projected screens.

Out past the massive screen that curved over the bridge, there was nothing to see beyond the blur of stars or the occasional warp buoy, studded along the sky to direct travelers to this stream or that. Where Jasper’s interests lay was in the tactical projector, where a quick swipe across the panel brought up a detailed hologram of their target: Earth.

She turned the globe this way and that, noting the planets close by and its miniscule moon. It was a strange place for a stronghold, but Rose Quartz had claimed victory against impossible odds thanks to her unusual tactics, and Jasper refused to march in blindly. Every weakness would be carved out, held up to the light and exploited.

Her concentration was interrupted by Lapis fluttering like a flag in the wind, arms crossed tight across her chest.

“What now?” Jasper demanded.

No answer came, save for a wide-eyed stare.

“Tell me.” She was beginning to regret allowing such liberties. “Speak!”

“I don’t understand why I’m here.” The words were barely above a whisper, muted by fear. “I just want to go home. I–I’m not a soldier.”

“Home?” Jasper’s lip curled in disapproval. Home was wherever Yellow Diamond saw fit to put them. “Didn’t they tell you why you’re here?”

Lapis shook her head, the movement quick and jerky. “No! They just took me from the grotto and put me on a transport–”

Her mouth shut with a hard clack when Jasper leaned over her, almost close enough for their brows to touch. The proximity only made Lapis’ shuddering worse, eyes round as marbles.

“Right now you’re on Homeworld’s finest warship. Every gem here is a Diamond’s pride, survivors of the most vicious battles this empire has ever fought. And you, little one, are a weapon in our hands.”

The trembling ceased, replaced by a shocked stillness. “A weapon?”

“Where we’re going, you’ll bring a wave of destruction unlike any other.” Baring her teeth in a broad smile, Jasper lay a heavy hand on Lapis’ shoulder. “Take heart. Very few have the chance for such glory.”

Silence fell around Lapis like a cloak until her eyes dropped back down to the floor. “May I go back to my quarters?”

“Rounds aren’t done. Mind your tongue while I inspect the weapon arrays and we’ll go straight back after, mm?” Jasper said.

The nod that came in turn was so subtle she nearly missed it. Jasper made a mental note for this to be the last of their walks until they reached the target; something pricked low in her gut, a warning of trouble if this continued.

To Lapis’ credit, she kept her peace for the rest of the journey, curled up against the wall of her cell. The quiet must have been comforting, or at least expected, because she retreated to the tight corner like an insect from the light when Jasper finally came to retrieve her.

“Come, little one.” After turning off the disruption field, Jasper offered a hand to help her stand. “Your moment fast approaches.”

With some reluctance, Lapis got to her feet. Jasper’s hand encompassed hers entirely, the same way ash layered over quartz, trapping it within. One show of strength and her fingers would shatter.

Yet Lapis followed without a word to the bridge, cutting a slender shape into Jasper’s shadow. The crew was already at full attention when the two of them entered, every salute given and dismissed in seconds.

Through the front screen, a blue planet set with green and golden continents was in view, dwarfed by a blazing sun further in the distance. Jasper stopped just short of the main console, drawing the attention of one pilot.

“Commander, permission to speak freely?” She asked.

“Granted.” Jasper said coolly.

After a slow blink of confusion, the Peridot gestured off into the darkness of space. “Why did we _fly_ here? I’ve seen warp buoys the entire trek.”

“Because Rose Quartz has a penchant for sabotaging warp pads. Sure, we could reach this Earth through the warp stream, but she could stop us from getting back or bringing in reinforcements.” A low chuckle erupted from her throat before Jasper scanned the horizon. They would be noticed soon enough, draw the first line of defense. “She could bottleneck our forces and slaughter every unit as they go through.”

“She…destroys them?” The pilot sounded nothing short of appalled.

“Quartz is not to be underestimated. She’s a smart and ruthless general, and her rebels are desperately loyal.” Even if they were mostly servants and rejects. “We’re fighting a worthy opponent. It’s a gift.”

Another blink, this time accompanied by a frown. “A gift, commander?”

Jasper grinned. “When you defeat a worthy opponent, the battle lives forever. Every gem to follow will know of our victory and hunger for better.”

When righteous fury blazed in emerald-tinted eyes, Jasper’s smile only grew broader, and she put an arm back to push Lapis in front of the screen as well. The smaller gem almost tripped, her back so rigid as to be brittle, especially when Jasper leaned down and whisper, “do you understand now?”

Lapis shook her head. “No.”

“Don’t you see all that blue, just like yours?” One hand pressed against the teardrop gem on her back, hard enough to provoke a wince. “It’s water.”

A long moment slipped by before Lapis’ jaw dropped. “All of it?”

“Yours for the taking.” Triumph bled through every word.

“But gems,” her face tightened in a frown, “–gems don’t need water.”

“Of course not, but with this much, you could grind a fusion to dust.” And then some. “Besides, Quartz is protective of the fauna here. There’s billions of them, and every single one needs water.”

“Or they’ll die?” Lapis asked, voice shrinking.

Jasper lowered her head and nodded. “Exactly.”

“Commander!” One of the pilots cried out. “We have a flight of Quartz’s ships on scan. They look like scouts.”

“Good.” They weren’t here to hide – not with this ship, anyway. “Drop both Yellow Eyes. All recon and land assault squads in their pods. Now!”

“Drop them where, commander?” Another pilot asked.

“Where they’re most populated. Put a delay on the second.” She jabbed a finger at the screen. “I want it to land when they send in recovery forces.”

“Yes, commander.” The third pilot swept her fingers across the launch panel. “Assault and recon are ready on your mark.”

“Mark. I want them behind that moon. Quartz needs to focus on us, not them.” Jasper ordered.

“Yellow Eyes away.” Half a dozen pods shot out past the bow, chasing the massive yellow spheres before hooking towards the moon. “All pods launched.”

Another Peridot piped up. “Scouts are about to hit our flank.”

“Evasive maneuvers once we have visual.” Jasper smirked. “Let them think they’re a threat.”

“Aye.” Second later, a full flight dropped into view, every single ship a sharp, blossoming pink. They immediately shifted to the defensive, facets spinning and revealing a jagged edge. “Shields, commander?”

Shaking her head, Jasper kept her eyes locked on the new threat. “Not yet.”

Quartz’s scouts were notorious shock troopers, using the aggressive spin of their ships to slam into larger vessels, shredding through hulls like drills. It was a suicidal maneuver more often than not, sending fragments raining down like shooting stars, but one scout could disable or destroy a warship ten times its size.

At least until White Diamond had designed a modulating bubble shield that would catch them like vermin in an electrified net and installed it in the crown jewel of their fleet. They just needed to get close enough.

“Proximity breach, commander!” Two pilots shouted at once.

“Shields at full, now!” Jasper roared.

The bubble exploded outward from its matrix, enveloping the ship. White energy flowed like lightning along its surface, laying in wait until the first scout smashed into it. Had Jasper not been looking, she would have missed it disintegrating into harmless particles. Warlust surged through her body, provoking a boisterous laugh as the rest of the flight instantly met the same fate.

Gone. Every one of them.

“Fantastic.” One of the crew whispered, discipline lost in awe.

“Our superiors have us well in hand.” Jasper replied, beaming.

The primary pilot let out a hum of approval. “First Yellow Eye landing.”

“What will happen?” Lapis asked suddenly. “When it lands?”

“The sea will turn to mist and the sand to glass. It will carve our brand into the planet’s surface, deeper than a caldera.” And everything within range of the initial blast would be vaporized. “They’ll be sending reinforcements. I can recon landing to set up a base. Send assault to the edge of the blast zone.”

“You don’t care.” The words were distant, as if spoken through a wall or window. Lapis glanced her way, eyes taking on a strange silver sheen akin to a mirror. “You know what happens but you don’t care.”

“I have no sympathy for traitors.” Jasper spat.

“I’ll show you. I saw. They made me see all of it.” A rising, high laugh bubbled out of Lapis’ throat before she lashed out, gripping Jasper’s face and letting her fingers dig in, daring to scratch. “Look!  _Look at me!_ ”

The world blurred and reset itself, the controlled chaos of the warship becoming the wild screams and clash of combat. An odd red liquid was spattered all over the ground, limbs scattered everywhere it spilled. For a moment Jasper thought they belonged to defeated gems, but each one was soft like a sponge, the interior lined with something white and jagged. Three Pearls were on the edge of the carnage, trying to carry some twisting and bleeding thing away.

Then the battlefield changed again, now flush with white flowers and heavy crimson berries hanging under the weight of tiny vines. A pair of fused gems fought in the ruins of a shattered hill, their giant weapons carving deep gouges into the ground and each other’s bodies, chipped pieces glittering where they fell. Two gems became ten and then a hundred, forces clashing together with mindless fury, all strategy lost amidst broken battleflags and orders confused in the heat of war. Jasper knew the scene, had lead a charge here that broke the first line of defense, but now she was standing in the middle of it all, watching a wavering Peridot trying to raise Rose Quartz’s banner back into the air.

“What are you doing?” She snarled at Lapis, whose eyes played the scene in full, standing untouched by the fighting around them. “What have you done?”

“I was in her hand.  _Her_ hand.” Lapis shuddered. “After you retreated, left me there. Your weapon was of no use with a broken gem, was she? They made me watch, record for the future so they could _forget_.”

“This isn’t real.” Jasper felt her throat seize, tighten like it was trying to seal itself shut. “Stop this.”

Blue hands clenched into fists, rage rewriting the fear on Lapis’ face. “Not until you understand.”

Yet the scene around them was wavering, falling apart in liquid strings of color. Jasper grabbed her by the shoulders, bolstered by the effect, and yelled, “ _Stop! This!_ ”

–

Water spilled out of her mouth as she choked, spitting out every drop she could against the will of gravity, the crushing pressure of the sea. Even without the need to breathe, Jasper felt the instinct to heave it from her system, but wondered why she could do it after such a mercy had been denied for so long.

Then Lapis’ face was an inch from hers, their heads surrounded by a bubble of air, water forced away so the two of them could speak. At least, when Jasper eased the salt from her throat with a hard cough, feeling the remnants dribble down her chin. Mirrored eyes became irises of warm blue, an alarmingly serene smile curving Lapis’ mouth.

“Do you understand yet?” A slow blink followed, sedate as the rhythm of the sea. “How much pain you caused?”

“You expect me to pity my enemy? To care for their worthless, destructive cause?” Jasper gagged, feeling yet more water force its way out through her nose, catching on her tongue. “I am a warrior.”

“You were a tool, just like me.” Lapis tilted her head to the side. “Just a more blunt one.”

“I am the best they have!” She shouted, baring her teeth. “You’re a small, pathetic thing, cradled in this prison. Do you think it’s better just because you can bend the bars? You’re still on Earth, Lapis. You’re still  _here_.”

It had worked before, sent Lapis shying away into the darkest part of the ocean until the words burned out of her skull, but this time she simply lay a hand on Jasper’s chest, contact deceptively soft until she dug her fingers in, blue flecks scraping off against the harder surface. “Don’t worry, Jasper. I’ll chisel you a new heart.”

The mounting rage suddenly guttered in Jasper’s chest, something about the words making her feel cold, a stone thrown down into a bottomless pit. Even on the floor of the sea, it seemed they could always go deeper.

“Just wait.” As Lapis turned away, the bubble followed with her, drawing the air with it. Jasper clenched her jaw tight as the water poured back into the hollow space, but it drained through her teeth, crawling back down her throat. “You’ll see.”

Such a strange conundrum: five thousand years of memories and so little time.


End file.
